Prognosis, chance of cure and survival rate

If a recurrence occurs restricted to the breast or to the adjacent tissues (local recurrence), a new therapy is performed with the aim of complete healing. In early stages, i.e. in the case of a small tumor without the involvement of other tissues such as the breast muscle or lymph nodes, the chances of recovery are high. This often requires a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

It should be noted, however, that even after another successful therapy, the risk of cancer recurrence is significantly increased in these patients. However, if a recurrence occurs in other organs (often the liver, lungs, brain or bones), this corresponds to metastasis. The cancer is no longer limited to the breast but has spread throughout the body, which unfortunately drastically reduces the chances of cure.

Therefore, the treatment is not primarily aimed at a cure, but rather at improving the quality of life (palliative). Here, too, forms of therapy such as surgical removal, radiation and chemotherapy are used to achieve an extension of survival time with the best possible quality of life. You can also find out more details under: Prognosis for breast cancer and chances of recovery from breast cancer

Recurrence after mastectomy

A recurrence is also possible after a mastectomy (mastectomy). The tumor can grow again in scar tissue, in adjacent tissue or along the breast wall. In this case, an attempt should be made to surgically remove the tumor as completely as possible, which is possible depending on the extent of the affected structures.

Subsequently, renewed chemotherapy is often required to increase the chances of recovery. After a mastectomy, however, recurrence can also occur in other organs such as the liver, lungs, bones or brain. In this case, the disease is called metastasis, so the chances of recovery are significantly lower.In most cases, the focus is now on improving the quality of life and, if necessary, extending survival time.

Lung metastases in breast cancer

A recurrence of breast cancer can occur as a metastasis in addition to a local recurrence. One of the most frequently affected organs is the lung. Small lung metastases usually do not cause any complaints, only larger metastases lead to shortness of breath, coughing up blood, weight loss and breast pain.

The suspicion can be investigated by means of an x-ray, and a biopsy of the suspected focus is usually performed to confirm the diagnosis. As a rule, the treatment of pulmonary metastases is palliative, as the chances of recovery are greatly reduced by the seeding of the tumor cells. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and in some cases surgical removal of the focus can improve the quality of life and possibly prolong the life span. The following articles are also recommended: Metastasis in breast cancer and how to detect lung cancer